Saturday, November 7, 2009

Last Sunday my lovely and generous friend Tara, with the help of my other equally lovely and generous friend Susan, hosted my baby shower. An amazing time was had by all. The food exceeded all expectations: apps, lunch, and a big ole whale-shaped chocolate ice cream cake for dessert. We played games, including "Guess the Pregnant Lady's Girth" and "Baby Gift Bingo." And there were presents galore for the little bundle of joy to be!

I've included some pictures from the event. Alex doesn't like the shirt I was wearing, and I have to say, after seeing the photos, perhaps its not the most flattering item I own. I have also since gotten a haircut.

Pic 1: Me and Susan, with Michelle looking on in the background. A great profile shot of the belly.

Pic 2: I received lots of books. It was a room full of literary scholars, after all.

Pic 3: Baby-Present Bingo. Lottery tickets were given out as prizes!

Pic 4: Me and Leah. Despite (Because of?) the fact that almost everyone in the room has spent years deconstructing gender codes, there was a wild embrace of all things pink.

Pic 5: Cupcakes. I ate several of them for breakfast the next day.

In other showering news, Alex had one!!

The other day at work, Alex's co-workers surprised him at lunch with a cake and a gift certificate. He said he tried to keep his speech short (I am dubious). He was clearly touched by the generosity of his new friends and I was clearly excited about the leftover cake he brought home later that day.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Halloween is a pretty big deal around the Miller household. We carve pumpkins, we eat pumpkin seeds, and we happily open our door to strangers in masks. This year, unfortunately, Alex and I didn't dress up. Alex did make an attempt to locate "the Wig," but "the Wig" apparently had bigger plans this year, and we have to yet to find it. I had all sorts of funny pregnant lady costume ideas that seemed less funny and more tiring as my girth changed from a baby bump to a baby manatee, so I, too, went costume-less.

Thankfully, Sailor's magnificent costume compensated for our own personal costume failures; she was a delicious hot dog. We spent Halloween at a doggy Halloween party. Her friend, Tofu, ironically dressed as a lobster, somehow managed to out-cute Sailor and win funniest costume. Afterwards, we had a long talk with Sailor about the importance of winning and she promised she will try harder next year. Then we had a longer talk about how we didn't care how hard she tried, what we wanted was a goddamn 1st prize ribbon.

The rest of Halloween was spent watching "Its the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and "Coraline." Perhaps it's my pregnancy-induced sobriety, but I have to say, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is really weird. Not as weird as "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" where all his friends mock him for serving toast and popcorn, but definitely weird. Whether the Great Pumpkin is about faith, or it's actually mocking the faithful, I have yet to decide.

I'm excited about next year's Halloween when I can dress Audrey up as some sort of radical political statement or perhaps a can of beer. Oh, the fun we will have until she develops her own autonomous world view!